The best way to win most conflicts is to stay out of them. This point was hammered home while in a bar--home to the world's freest, and stupidist, speech--this weekend. With coverage of the Israel-Lebanon war blaring on the flat-screen televisions, one patron discoursed on whether Israel had a "right to exist." Why every other country possesses this right, but Israel does not, the African gentleman did not say. Another patron, an Israeli, perhaps channeling the spirit of Phil Sheridan, explained that "the only good Arab is a dead Arab." There's no reasoning with unreasonable people. Sometimes it pays not to get involved.
No country has a right to exist. If there was a right to exist then you'd have to say the countries on this list are having their rights violated because they don't exist anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Former_Countries
The only countries that have a right to exist are those willing to fight for their country. all others, as well as losers in conflicts, cease to exist. Fighting for one's country includes killing all the enemy, including enemy women and children, those who egg on their country's soldiers. Dead women and children decimate the ranks of future soldiers of an enemy's army.
Good point Obi Juan it really isn't about the "rights" of states. The issue is over justice, that some arrangement needs to be found to allow Palestinians and Israel to have a just peace. The alternative of slow motion ethnic warfare is not a good one.
There won't be a just peace, or any peace for that matter. Israel and Lebanon form a fault line between three seperate and distinct civilizations: Jewish civilization, Islamic civilization, and Eastern Christendom.
Its nearly impossible to have a lasting peace along the fault lines between two seperate civilizations. Three? and when one of those three is Islamic civilization, which is far and away the MOST violent of the world's civilizations?
Won't happen.
where is Eastern Christendom? For that matter where is Western Christendom, or Christendom? They don't exist anymore as geographical designations. I wish they did but they don't.
But nationalism is strong in the ME, those various arab states are concerned over their national integrity so resolution could be had to the territorial issues btwn the Palestinians and Israelis that is at the heart of the turmoil.
"Christendom" is an increasingly dying term, yes. But its still useful, I think. In this context, Christendom refers to states which traditionally adhere to the Christian faith. Western Christendom, being states which traditionally adhere to Protestant or Catholic confessions of Christianity. Eastern Christendom being nations which traditionally adhere to Orthodox or Eastern Rite Catholic confessions of Faith.
While "Christendom" is now almost never a term that is useful in intracivilizational times, it is still, I think, useful in intercivilizational terms. When battling states which are members of other, usually traditionally opposed civilizations, they tend to remember their roots. I doubt I ever would have discovered my Catholic faith if our enemies in the War on Terror were not Mohammedans.
Now, as for the real Christendom, as I am sure I don't have to tell you, it was shattered at the "Reformation" and has never recovered.
P.S.: Also, if our adversaries were not Mohammedans, even as a nominal Catholic, I probably never would have woken up to such silly myths as "The Crusades were wars of aggression" and "The Papacy has been generally corrupt and power-hungry throughout history"
Alcohol loosens lips.
wrong thread?
Ben-T, depends on how much you've had to drink.
